Relay
by forensicsfan
Summary: NS - What might have happened during the preparation for the Desert Relay.


Disclaimer: I don't own them. I didn't create them. And I don't profit from them. But as always, coffee with George would be nice.  
  
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"Gonna have to speed it up, Sara." Nick teased over his shoulder as he and Sara ran. They were training for a 120 mile relay through the desert involving law enforcement agencies from all over the country that would be converging on Las Vegas in just a few weeks. All of the CSIs had been working hard to keep in top shape for the competition.  
  
"I'm only letting you think that you're going to win." Sara sounded a little out of breath. Truth be told, running was not her favorite thing, but when Nick had offered to be her training partner, she'd taken him up on it, knowing that he would challenge her. The fact that she was fairly certain that he'd make sure he had a bit of a lead, and she'd get a nice view of his rear didn't hurt.  
  
He glanced over his shoulder and grinned at her. "I always knew you liked my ass."  
  
That was just the barb she needed as she pushed herself a little harder to catch up and even her stride with his. "A little egotistical, aren't we?" She smirked.  
  
Nick laughed. "Admit it, Sara. You were staring at my ass."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Just because you keep running ahead, you assume I'm looking at your ass."  
  
He elbowed her. "C'mon, we're almost back to my house. I'll race you there. Winner gets the first shower."  
  
Sara let out a groan as Nick took off at a sprint. There was no way she was going to catch up, but she took off after him and by the time she reached his front door, she was completely out of breath.  
  
Nick just stood there grinning at her. "We improved our time by three minutes."  
  
Sara rolled her eyes. "Just hurry and take a shower, I'm ready to collapse."  
  
As they walked into the house, Nick pulled a couple bottles of water out of his fridge and tossed her one. "Make yourself at home." He grinned at her as he headed for the bathroom to take a shower.  
  
Sara took her running shoes off and peeled her socks off, propping her feet up on Nick's coffee table as she took a long swig out of the water bottle. Even clad in just her spandex shorts and sports bra she was hot. She set the bottle down on the coffee table and lay her head back onto the back of the couch and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, she felt a finger being poked into her side.  
  
"Sara." Nick whispered. He was amused that she'd fallen asleep on his couch in the five or so minutes he'd been in the shower.  
  
Sara opened her eyes a bit startled at Nick poking her in the side. "What? Huh?"  
  
Nick chuckled. "Shower's yours."  
  
Sara groaned at Nick. "I'm not sure I can move."  
  
"Here, let me help you." With that, Nick grabbed Sara's hand and pulled her to her feet and bent over for a moment to sling her over his shoulder.  
  
Sara let out a squeal. "What are you doing?"  
  
"You said you couldn't move. I just thought I'd help you out a little." Nick chuckled as he carried her to the bathroom and deposited her in the shower, reaching in and turning the cold water on.  
  
Sara let out another squeal. "Nick! My clothes."  
  
"You brought a change of clothes." He grinned in amusement. "You just cool off." He disappeared and returned a few seconds later with her duffle bag. He dropped it on the counter with a smug expression as Sara stood in the middle of his bathroom floor sopping wet.  
  
She looked at him in disbelief. "I can't believe you just did that."  
  
He couldn't hide his amusement. "Sara, you looked hot."  
  
She blushed at the comment. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Warm. You know, overheated. I just wanted to make sure you weren't suffering from heat exhaustion." He had one eyebrow raised as he observed the extra color in her cheeks.  
  
"Oh." Sara tried to cover up her embarrassment.  
  
Nick chuckled. "But for the record, you are pretty hot."  
  
"Oh." It seemed that Sara's entire vocabulary had suddenly shrunk to one word.  
  
Nick took a step towards her. "You doing ok?"  
  
She just nodded, suddenly aware that he wasn't wearing a shirt; just a pair of cotton shorts and his hair was still wet from his own shower.  
  
Nick looked at her curiously. "You sure?"  
  
She swallowed hard, feeling her heart rate increase as he stepped closer. All she could do was nod again.  
  
Nick placed the back of his hand on her forehead. "You don't seem too warm."  
  
Nick's proximity was causing Sara to feel a little off balance. Maybe due in part to staring at his rear end during most of their run and now that his chest was staring her in the face, she felt literally flummoxed.  
  
"Sara." Nick's voice sounded concerned. "Maybe you overdid it a little. I think you need to drink some more water."  
  
His words registered in her mind, but her voice seemed firmly stuck in her throat even as her soaking wet hair and clothes continued to drip on the bathroom floor.  
  
"Sara." Nick furrowed his brow as he studied Sara's bewildered expression. "Sara." Her lack of response baffled him. He was tempted to push her back in the shower. "Sara."  
  
Sara shook her head to try and break herself out of her reverie. "Uh."  
  
Nick looked at her a little perplexed. "You ok?"  
  
Sara swallowed hard and looked into his eyes. "Uh, yeah."  
  
"I was a little worried about you there for a moment." Nick still looked at her with concern.  
  
Sara's eyes drifted to his lips for a moment. "Uh."  
  
"Are you sure you're ok? I did push you pretty hard out there." Nick wasn't convinced that she really was ok.  
  
"Nick. I." Sara stammered. The image of her standing there dripping wet in her running clothes in the middle of Nick's bathroom was almost comical.  
  
His eyebrows curved upward as a realization hit him. He gestured towards the door. "I should let you get changed."  
  
Before he could turn to leave, Sara moved towards him, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his.  
  
Nick was a bit startled at first, but eagerly returned the kiss, sliding his arms around her waist.  
  
When they finally broke apart a little breathless, Sara tried to speak. "Sorry. I. Couldn't. Resist."  
  
Nick leaned in and kissed her again, pulling away a few moments later. He grinned. "I couldn't resist either."  
  
"I've been wanting to do that for weeks." She smiled at him. "Do you have any idea how hard it's been to work out with you?"  
  
Nick chuckled and rested his forehead against hers. "So you were staring at my ass then." 


End file.
